No Second Chances
by magicslifer
Summary: When Freshman Year threatens to overwhelm their relationship, will Gabriella remember what her priorities ought to be or will Troy pay the price for her fixation on schoolwork at Stanford


AN: Before we get started, I just want to say the inspiration for this fic came entirely from the one-shot, 'Unforgettable' by WoundedSparrow, a really talented writer in the HSM fandom and for any people interested in this type of fanfiction, I wholeheartedly encourage you to read his/her work, not just the story I based this off of, but also "The Road Not Taken". I only just recently found Road Not Taken and read the entire fic in 1 day the writing was so superb. Anyway, as I said, this is an idea that came when I read that one-shot. I'd thought a bit about this kind of storyline in the past, but that one-shot gave me the idea on how to express it, admittedly it's a touch sadder than Unforgettable, but I've always preferred a bit of angst in a story to balance the fluff out somewhat. Now, if you've kept reading this far, I applaud you and thank you and I really hope you'll give this fic a review and tell me what you think.

Summary: They made it through the scholastic decathlon and the championship game, past lava springs and past a second championship game, they made it to California for college together, but what happens when the challenges of freshman year threaten to overwhelm their relationship.

No Second Chances

"_I've chosen basketball…but I've also chosen theater. The University of California, Berkeley offers me both. That's where I'm gonna be next fall. But most of all, I choose the person who inspires my heart, which is why I picked a school that's exactly thirty two point seven miles from you. Miss Gabriella Montez, Stanford University, Pre-Law._

It had been a night she wouldn't soon forget, to hear from Troy's mouth that they'd be so close to each other and for the next few months, the golden couple of east high had been riding on cloud nine. Their group of friends each went their separate ways and they had to say goodbye, but they also made sure they would keep in contact with one another. Yet now, only a few months into their freshman years at Stanford and Berkeley respectively, it seemed like the magic was dying down due to the strain. Gabriella was struggling to keep up with the challenging law program of Stanford and maintain the grades for her scholarship, and Troy was trying to learn song and dance after song and dance for the theater at Berkeley and basketball had finally hit full swing for the team with games at a minimum of once if not twice a week. Between two very busy schedules, the pair hadn't seen each other for going on three weeks and phone calls and emails could only do so much to satisfy the young and in love couple.

Shaking herself from her daydreams, Gabriella forced her mind back onto the road in front of her as she trekked back from the dining center and towards her dorm room. It was almost five at night and she had a test early in the morning that she felt woefully underprepared for. It was certainly a change of pace. In high school she was among the best and only a handful could keep up with her intellect and brainpower. Now though, at Stanford, among the best in the country, she found herself struggling to remain at the top percentiles. Granted, she was still earning A's, but more out of late nights and absolute determination that being ahead of the game. She's earned all A's for years and she hadn't been about to let herself slip from a place that seemed as natural to her as breathing.

The test tomorrow was in her Political Science course on the federal budget, agencies and other government spending and its allocation as well as all major Supreme Court rulings regarding government spending. Furthermore, 2 essay questions that would need to be a minimum of 4 pages each in the essay booklet if she even wanted a passing grade on the essay portion. To put it bluntly, the Latina girl was struggling under the weight of trying to maintain her scholarship and it was starting to become apparent to people. Her roommate, Anna, had commented more than once that she had dark circles under her eyes from the constant late nights she was pulling to keep up from the workload. Her mother had said she seemed emotionally exhausted when she visited her mother; she had been able to take their home in Albuquerque off the market and moved back in. Despite all her words about how it was convenient for her work, Gabriella knew her mom had grown quite fond of New Mexico. Even Troy had said perhaps she needed to take a day or two to rest, forget trying to stay ahead of homework and sleep before she buckled from sheer exhaustion. To say they had a small argument would be an understatement. She had snapped at him over how he was doing just as much on top of schoolwork and he had no right to lecture her. He had called the next day and apologized but the issue wasn't settled between them and he made it no secret he thought she was overreaching herself.

Taking the elevator to her floor, she pulled out her key and went into the dorm, flipping the light switch and flooding the small room in light. Anna had gone to visit her parents in San Francisco for the rest of the week and wasn't due back until the Sunday and as it was only Thursday night, she would at least have some peace and quiet to prepare for her test. Anna was a great person but she was born into a family of wealth and thus getting the best grades possible wasn't quite as much of a necessity for her, she could entertain the idea of missing three days of classes to go visit home.

Settling herself into her desk chair, she put down the plate of sweets she had grabbed for herself on the run from the dining center and began pulling textbook after textbook from her bag on the floor and grabbed the first one, trying to concentrate on the information in front of her rather than the boy with jet blue eyes who occupied her dreams. The time apart was destroying her concentration. Despite the difference between far more desirable as opposed to Albuquerque and Palo Alto, thirty two miles was still quite a drive for Troy and ride on the bus for Gabriella. It was at least an hour considering how bad traffic often was. In addition to the lack of physical contact, she also had guilt weighing her down. Earlier that morning, she had been forced to tell him that she wouldn't be able to make it to his game tomorrow against Washington State. The coach had been playing him off and on for the last few weeks as a possible starter, giving him more game time each week. Friday however, would be his first night starting a game as the official starter at Point Guard. He'd been so excited to tell her this and then she had to drop the bomb, she had a review for an exam on Monday and the professor would be discussing information on the test, as well as what would be more important details and the essay questions. It was an event she couldn't afford to miss, however it began at 6:30 and lasted until 8:30 while Troy's game began at 7. When she told him she wouldn't be able to come, he had played the part of the understanding and supportive boyfriend as always, but deep down she knew he was crushed since not a week before she had promised she'd been there in the front row cheering for him no matter what and that there was nothing she would rather do that night.

A knock at the door pulled her from her musings and she rose from her chair warily. Could Anna have forgotten something and had to come back already? However the moment she opened the door, she found her face immersed in sweet smelling roses and an even sweeter sight of her boyfriend holding them.

"Troy…? What are you doing here…?"

The eighteen year old had the grace to look somewhat sheepish as he used his free hand to scratch the back of his head. "Well…I figured if we weren't gonna get a chance to do anything tomorrow, we could go out and do something tonight, get dinner and a movie maybe…"

It absolutely killed her to hear those words; it had been so long since she had a chance to really do anything that could be described as fun that wasn't connected to her schooling and classes in some way. Still, she was in college now, she has responsibilities that came before parties or going to have fun. Still, that little twinkle in his eyes made her feel faint and she just about would have said yes to anything he asked her at that point.

"T-troy, that sounds amazing and I really would love to, but I have this huge test in the morning and I'm not prepared at all and I just have to get back to studying…"

She could see the flash of hurt again that seemed so normal for whenever she saw him lately. It was at least an hour's drive during the rush hour like this and in that broken down wreck of his, and she was gonna tell him to go? He'd made time to see her, and she couldn't humor him a bit?

"Well…that's alright Gabi. I've got my playbook for tomorrow in the truck, how about I go grab it and we'll just chill in here. I can quiz you if you…"

The sympathy was slowly become irritability as her boyfriend didn't take the hint and she cut across him quickly, "Troy! I really just need some time alone to study. Please! I'll call you tomorrow morning…just...just give me some time alone."

Now there was definitely hurt mixed in with a bit of anger "You've been alone for the last two weeks Gabi…you always say you want to see me on the phone…I'm here…what more do you want from me? I know you're busy, but I just want to sit with you, I feel like I don't even know you these days."

"Well unlike you Troy, I've got a clue what I want in life and I can't just lie around. At least I know what I'm going after. You still can't decide what you really want to do. I love you Troy, more than anything, but I need some time to get ready tonight…please…can you just leave me alone for tonight and I'll call you as soon as I get out of my test tomorrow?"

Troy almost seemed to flinch at the cold words, so strange for the sweet girl he'd known for years and at that moment she felt her heart go cold at the pain in the eyes she loved so much.

"Troy…"

He didn't give her a chance to speak before cutting her off "I'll talk to you tomorrow Gabriella, good luck on your test. I know you'll be great like always." With that, he dropped a soft kiss on her forehead and gave her a weak smile before leaving the room.

Well if that wasn't a heart stopper, she didn't know what was. If nothing else, she owed him an apology for being so mean and irritable with him. He'd driven over to Stanford with a big game the next night just to see her and spend time with her and she had sent him away after only…five minutes! Rethinking her decision, she went to her window which overlooked the parking lot, planning to tell him to come back up but already his truck was pulling out of the parking lot and she shut the window once more with a sigh. He was definitely getting a call tomorrow. She owed him that much to say the very least.

Taking a seat at her desk once more, she sent off an email to her friend asking if she could take notes at the review session the next evening for her. If it killed her, she was gonna make it to that game and show Troy she was still interested in their relationship just as much as her schoolwork.

That night, Gabriella didn't dream well, flashes of the times she and Troy had spent together, both old and recent, flashes through her mind in such a blur she felt like she was going to get motion sickness.

_A celebration at Lava Springs "Here's to right now."_

_An argument after he mentioned her exhausted appearance "I get that your schoolwork is important Gabriella, but it's like you've forgotten to live. You'll be okay if you don't get an A on one paper or test!"_

"_What do you know; I'll never get a chance at this test again!"_

"_You'll never get this second to have again! These aren't any second chances, is this really how you want to remember the moment? Weren't you the one saying you should worry about the future and lose yourself to it?"_

_A waltz under a tree, "Cause my heart is wherever you are."_

_A tearful phone call, "I love you wildcat"_

She woke in a sweat, the flashbacks leaving her panting and a glance at her clock read four thirty in the morning. Unable to fall back asleep, she resigned herself to walking down the hallways of her dorm into the local floor kitchen and began making herself some coffee, her constant companion on such late nights and early mornings. While she waited however, she turned on the T.V. in the corner to the only thing on at that hour besides paid programming, the town news.

"_And we go now to Cindy at San Francisco County Hospital where both victims have been moved."_

"_Yes Chuck, as we reported previously, the accident occurred last night in the late evening when a man ran a red light and collided head on with a young boy, now identified as Troy Bolton, the newly designated starting Point Guard of the Berkely Golden Bears. The man who ran the light has been identified as Stephen Hallen, a local computer technician. While both victims were removed from the gruesome scene, we have received word that Mr. Bolton passed away due to his injuries. Mr. Hallen is expected to make a full recovery but is currently being held in the ICU ward. Coach Hayden of the Golden Bears had this to say…"_

As soon as she had heard Troy's name, Gabriella had every ounce of her concentration focused on the television and the other grasping for her cell phone to call her boyfriend and make sure he was alright. However, once she heard he had passed away from his injuries, her now full glass of coffee slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor, yet she couldn't feel the burning liquid on her skin, she'd gone numb, and then at once, her world went black as she passed out from shock.

HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM- HSM

Two weeks had passed since that day and now Gabriella stood with her mother, Jack and Lucille Bolton, Chad and his parents, those who had known Troy the best. She had seen numerous others in the crowd in Albuquerque. There was Kelsi crying softly and Taylor looking shocked to the core as the burial took place. Zeke and Jason were holding onto each other for support, Ryan and Sharpay were also holding onto each other, trying to bring the comfort the other needed as they had been able to in the past, but now it seemed impossible.

Poor Chad, he had all but fallen apart when he got the news. He had been almost as bad as Troy's parents. Jack had been so sullen and withdrawn, he hadn't thought about anything basketball related since the day he heard the news and Lucille had been crying as she flipped through family albums incessantly.

She could spot other faces scattered among the crowd. There was Jimmy Zara, the Rocket-man, Tiara Gold and Donnie Dion. There was Ms. Darbus, the stoic woman who was crying now over the loss of her prized pupil whom she had grown so fond of and developed such pride in. Principal Matsui, Martha Cox, she could even see Sharpay and Ryan's parents and even Mr. Fulton looking at the casket mournfully.

For all Troy's words about how she had changed East High, he had been just as much of a catalyst. He had given the students there someone to follow, an icon to believe in, to put their faith in. With his death, so many had felt the burden.

Returning her eyes to the front of the ceremony, Gabriella felt her eyes begin to water heavier than before as both Chad and her mother put an arm around her. She had called her mother the moment she heard the news and told her what had been happening with her and Troy and how it was all her fault that he was on that road and not at school or in her dorm and her mother had flown her home the next day and helped talk her through her guilt. Chad had also come back for the funeral as soon as he heard, also supporting his surrogate parents, the Bolton family, in any way they asked and he had been more than willing to talk Gabriella through her guilt. Although she could tell he did feel somewhat angry she had turned his closest friend out since he had come for the sole reason of seeing her, she also knew he didn't blame her for Troy's death. He blame many things, the driver first and foremost, but never her, because he knew how much Troy loved…had loved her and how much Gabriella still loved him.

As the headstone was fixed into plane and people slowly placed flowers at the grave, Gabriella waited till the end to get her view before she finally made her way to the front and saw the final resting place of the boy she loved with all her heart.

**Troy Alexander Bolton**

**Beloved Son, Friend, Teammate and Boyfriend**

**December 14, 1990 – December 13, 2009**

"**Treasure is something that isn't always gold."**

"**Live for today, for tomorrow may never come and yesterday is already gone"**


End file.
